Early in the morning, Riyao came to wake them up, kicking the door open directly.
The wooden door slammed against the wall with a loud bang, and dust trickled down.
Lucy truly lived up to being Fairy Tail's real protagonist, the child of destiny.
She was lying between two idiots; on her left was Natsu, whose snoring was like thunder, and on her right was Gray, who had taken his clothes off again at some point. She was living the life of having a man on each side, though she wasn't actually holding them.
Her face was imprinted with creases from the pillow, her hair was as messy as a bird's nest, and a trail of drool hung from the corner of her mouth.
Riyao gave Lucy a thumbs-up, his eyes full of mischievousness that said, "I get it, I get it."
Lucy sat up abruptly, waving her hands in a panic, her face turning bright red. "It's not what you think! We only squeezed together because there weren't enough rooms!"
Happy was sent flying by her sudden movement, flipping twice in the air before crashing into the wall.
Lucy pushed the two sleeping gods beside her.
"Natsu! Gray! Wake up!"
Gray, Natsu, and Happy rubbed their eyes and sat up groggily.
Natsu's hair had exploded into a pink hedgehog ball, while Gray looked around blankly for his clothes.
Riyao leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed and a smile on his face, deliberately using a respectful tone. "Lord Mages, please get up and have breakfast."
As soon as the groggy Natsu and Happy heard the word "eat," their eyes instantly lit up. It was as if a power button had been pressed, and they both launched themselves off the floor.
"Whoa! Where's breakfast? Where is it?" Natsu grabbed Riyao's shoulders and shook him vigorously.
"Is there fish? I want to eat Boiled Black-backed Sea Bass!" Happy flapped his wings and flew onto Riyao's head.
Riyao set off with them after they finished breakfast.
Walking on the path to the ruins, the sea breeze blew past with a salty, fishy scent, and the weeds by the roadside grew wildly to waist-height.
Riyao was thinking of finding some fun; after all, this journey couldn't be too boring.
Seeing that Gray was shirtless again, Riyao spoke in an admiring tone, pressing his hands together with stars shining in his eyes.
"Why does Lord Gray like being shirtless so much? Is it some kind of profound magic cultivation? That's so amazing!"
Gray scratched his head sheepishly, the corners of his mouth twitching upward, feeling a bit floaty from the praise.
"Indeed, I take them off to be in harmony with nature. An Ice-Make Mage needs to feel the breath of nature, after all."
The more he spoke, the more serious he became, even puffing out his chest, completely unaware that he was being played.
Riyao then ran to Happy's side and crouched down, looking at him flap his wings with a shocked expression.
"Lord Happy can actually fly! This... this... this is too cool!"
Happy was praised so much that he practically floated without even using his wings, his two short legs kicking proudly in the air as he held his little head high.
"Aye! If there's danger later, just hide behind me. I'll protect you!"
Riyao's eyes sparkled as he looked at Natsu, leaning in close to stare at the sparks dancing between his fingers.
"Oh ho ho! Lord Natsu's flames look so powerful! Defeating giant dragons and such must be a breeze!"
Natsu thumped his chest so hard it made a thundering sound that echoed on the empty road.
"You have a good eye! If I run into any giant dragons, I'll blow them away in a heartbeat!"
He waved his fists as he spoke, flames dancing between his fingers, his whole being as excited as a peacock spreading its feathers.
Riyao rubbed his chin, sizing Lucy up from head to toe, then from toe back to head, finally stopping his gaze at an uncertain spot and hesitating for a long time.
"Lady Lucy is... really... good."
Lucy's eye twitched, and then two lines of tears streamed down as she clenched her fists and shouted.
"Hey! If you can't think of a word, then don't say anything! This is really hurtful!"
Happy, who had flown onto Riyao's shoulder, covered his mouth and snickered, his shoulders shaking. Lucy turned and shouted, reaching out to grab Happy.
"Stupid cat! Don't laugh!"
Happy nimbly dodged, flapping his wings to fly onto Natsu's head, continuing to snicker.
As they walked, a massive shadow loomed over everyone. The ground vibrated slightly, and footsteps sounded heavy and powerful.
Looking up, they saw a giant rat—and it was even wearing clothes. The rat was at least two stories tall, its grey fur shimmering with an eerie luster under the purple moonlight, its small eyes glinting with malice as it let out a squeak.
Riyao frantically held Happy up in front of him like a shield.
"Lord Happy, you're a cat! Quick, catch this rat!"
Held out in front, Happy flailed his short legs with a look of terror.
"I don't like eating rats! And this rat is so much bigger than me! I'm only as small as its toenail!"
Beside them, Gray pressed both hands to the ground, his ice-blue magic instantly spreading. "Ice-Make: Ice Floor!"
A sheet of smooth ice extended from beneath Gray's feet, spreading right under the giant rat.
The giant rat's feet slipped, and its massive body crashed to the ground, making the earth tremble.
Natsu rushed forward and delivered a kick to the giant rat's head. "Fire Dragons Iron Fist!"
Even though he used his foot, the momentum was just as impressive.
Gray followed up with a kick of his own, his cold sole stomping onto the giant rat's face.
Riyao also joined in the fun, raising his foot to kick, and even pretended to pant after finishing.
"Whew, you two lords are truly too strong; you've got me fired up as well!"
"A rat this big must have mutated under the influence of the Purple Moon," Gray analyzed.
"Who cares! Kick it!" Natsu added another kick.
Riyao followed with another kick, shouting, "Yeah! Kick it!"
From behind, Lucy facepalmed and sighed helplessly. "This Klass is surprisingly in sync with them."
After defeating the roadside rat, the group walked into the ruins.
Massive stone pillars stood on both sides, the walls were carved with incomprehensible runes, and the air was thick with an ancient and decaying scent.
Their footsteps echoed in the empty hall, as if something were peering from the shadows.
Riyao put on a show of introducing the ruins, hands behind his back and head swaying, looking like a man of great experience.
"According to the elders, these ruins are from ancient times. As for which era specifically, I can't quite remember, but it was a very, very long time ago anyway."
Natsu wasn't listening at all; he was already exploring the ruins in his own way—for instance, by testing the sturdiness of the floor.
He stomped his foot wildly.
Bang~
The floor shattered instantly, and it broke so perfectly that everyone happened to fall through.
"Aaaaaahhhh..." This was Lucy's scream, shrill and long, echoing in the shaft.
Only Lucy landed flat on her butt, clutching her rear and rolling around on the floor with tears in her eyes. "It hurts! It hurts!"
Natsu landed steadily on both feet, Gray buffered with a knee, and Happy flapped his wings to float down.
Riyao did a superhero landing—one knee down, one hand on the ground, and the other hand slowly forming a fist as he looked up. The move was incredibly cool.
"Fai-lu-re~"
Lucy pointed at Riyao and shouted, looking indignant. "Why can you land steadily too?!"
Riyao grinned, his teeth seemingly flashing with a white light, and gave a thumbs-up, speaking with a heavy rural accent. "I'm the best farmer in the village! I can plow ten mu a day! So my physical fitness is crazy strong!"
Natsu couldn't wait and headed deeper inside, his pace getting faster and faster as the others hurried to keep up.
They turned a corner and found love—no, they found the ice-sealed Deliora.
A massive block of ice stood deep within the ruins, its surface crystal clear and radiating a bone-chilling cold.
In the center of the ice, a colossal figure was frozen within. Its distorted posture, bulging muscles, and hideous face still radiated a suffocating pressure even while sealed in ice.
Upon seeing Deliora, Gray immediately became unwell.
His face turned pale instantly, his pupils constricted sharply, and he looked as if his soul had been sucked out, falling into a state of low spirits.
His hands trembled slightly, his breathing became rapid and heavy, and his ice-blue eyes swirled with complex emotions: fear, anger, and something else that couldn't be quite defined.
Natsu, completely oblivious to Gray's abnormality, clamored to defeat Deliora, his fists igniting with flames. "Whoa! This big guy looks tough! Let me defeat it!"
Just as he took a step, Gray sent Natsu flying with a single punch, the force so great it was as if he were pouring ten years of anger into it. Natsu flew sideways and crashed into a stone pillar with a muffled thud.
"You fire-user, stay away from Deliora!"
Gray's voice was hoarse and furious, his eyes slightly reddened, and his fists were still shaking.
Lucy didn't understand why they had suddenly started fighting, and was even more confused about what was wrong with Gray. She quickly ran between them, spreading her arms to block Natsu.
"Gray, let's talk this out, don't use your fists!"
Natsu slid down from the stone pillar, rubbing his punched face with a bewildered look. "Why did you hit me all of a sudden?"
Riyao stood to the side, frowning as he analyzed the massive block of ice, his gaze sweeping over the frozen Deliora.
Ur's Ice-Make magic, Iced Shell—an eternal seal obtained at the cost of the caster's life.
He put away his playful thoughts, his expression becoming uncharacteristically serious.